I bought one when they very first came out because my producer kept raving about it. $999...!!!??? It was sooo new it had no manual yet ART sent it to me complete straight from their typewriter...!! Months later they sent the actual one. It seemed to do everything except what I wanted. Compressor seemed quite good after I adjusted it. Pitch shifter was great for an almost 12 string, but I still have my electric 12 string from 1964, a white Burns. It kept making tiny extras after the sustain was almost over, a microscopic bzt heard only through headphones, driving me nuts. I sent it back, they would un-loose connector, spray 'things to clean it up' but never fixed it. Even changed the entire wiring loom...nothing. It did look good in the rack and I ran it into a blonde '63 Bandmaster. I still have it. Thought about selling it but no way I would ever get enough money for it. I went back to pedals because I can build them, customize them so they look exotic. I use the weird pedals because it pisses off all the right pedal snobs. Milk Box compressor, Clapton multi pedal x two, Behringer multi pedal, etc. The pedals just do a better job than the Mach 2. I rarely sell anything off because there is always something it does well, and I already have it. The Rockman X-100 I would never sell.Just bought a East River Drive and experiment with the new cheap 'skinny pedals' and have had good luck. The TEMU Auto Wah/Envelope Follower is still better than the one in the Mach 2. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. Hugs....Nyms.
Wow, what a trip down memory lane! The days of the AD/A MP-1, Rocktron Pro G.A.P., Yamaha SPX90, Rockman XPR, etc... I remember having a massive Mesa Boogie rack filled with all these effects. The ART SGE spent more time out for repairs (two times) than working in my rack. Eventually I gave up on it. I wish I held on to my Rocktron rack units and Mutron pedals -- now from time to time I see them listed on eBay or Reverb for a small fortune!
We are about the same age. The guitar magazines, the nostalgia, the gear, etc… Wanted to save my money as a teenager working in a pizza shop for one of these. The ads had me riveted. Glad I missed the boat after all!
Holy geez,this was my first “pro” rig multi fx; it was fun to see/hear it again. I used a Rockman Distortion Generator as my distortion source. I hear y’all, stfu, it was 1990 lolol. I stepped up to their SGX 2000 when it came out and it was a vast improvement. It’s worth mentioning that for a long time at this stage of guitar multifx processors, factory presets were legit unusable, just over-the-top thinking you wanted to hear the most extreme shit they could do. The 2000 and 2000 Express were capable stuff, especially for their time. But job 1 was to wipe the presets, lol.
I had the og SGE as a kid (mach 1 I suppose) . Straight into a Peavey solid state amp. As I got older I just used it for time based effects on vocals when recording. And then 10 years ago I was an idiot and donated it.
Dude, I used one of those HARD in the 80s. I think I had the original and then a Mach II. There was a time when I was automatically switching all my patch changes so all I had to do was play and sing and not do any foot switching when playing live. Because I was mainly playing clean sounds, it actually worked well for my needs at the time!
This stuff was definitely in its infancy during that time. I own a few of these rack units years ago, it takes time to dial in anything decent. A few of the channels did sound good, better than I remembered. Things have come a long way for sure, much better stuff is out there now.
I still have the SGX2000... because I hoard music gear. Was my main rig in the early 90's. SGX2000 into a Marshall valvestate power amp into a 4x12 Marshall cab from the 70's. None of the presets worked through a cab though. It's like they designed them through the headphone jack. Had to build every preset for live. Worked at the time. Moved on to Mesa Dual Rec and stomp boxes. Still with Mesa and stomps (RA100 and 2x12 and a Lonestar combo). Now I want to dig it out, throw on the headphones and rip.
I had this with a Fender M-80 , it was great however it constantly failed in live situations, sent it back , ART replaced it , Great Customer service, new unit failed again ... finally traded it for an ADA Mp1 and and Alesis QuadraVerb GT , that configuration is still rocking Today ! Great Flashback to my early 90's rack gear . Thanks For All your Posts !
I owned this for many years and was smart enough, unlike most of the commenters here, to not use the distortion sounds. I ran a Peavey Rock Master into this and then stereo out to a Peavey Classic 60/60 into stereo 2x12 cabinets. I used any effects except distortion and it sounded very good. For those saying how bad it sounds because of the presets that use the ART distortion, you are simpleminded.
I love these videos where you play through old gear. I'm always surprised at how good (IMO) they hold up. People may not agree (including yourself), but I think you get some good sounds out of them. Not all of them are winners, obviously, but there were totally usable tones in that unit. It'd be cool if you could also give a general price on these units when you go over them, like just check out ebay completed auctions for a general price range. I'd like to see you do a full demo song with old gear like this you play through (like you do with new gear). Would love to hear these old units in song context and a pro mix.
Best to run your guitar signal straight in. The analog comp and drives are really good and also the delays and chorus. 80's classic rock galore. Closely matches my SGX2000.
You're doing it wrong Michael ;D The ART SGE MACH II was a contender to the KORG A3, Roland GP16, Digitech GSP21 (also Harman int) Yamaha FX500, Rockman XPR, Peavey ProFex and ZOOM 9030, You're supposed to run your guitar signal directly into the processor, then the stereo signal into 2 guitar amps. Or plug your DX7 in stereo and run the stereo outs into the mixer ... those lifeless presets will light up like a KORG M1 !!
...the tube was used as a buffer and had no influence on the gain structure , that was all solid state drive Regardless of its sonic performance, to call it a "Tube preamp" is giving it too much credit
I had the ART Mach II back in the day along with a Power Plant and an Rockman Midi Octopus to conroll those and the channel switching on my JCM 900 4100 Dual Reverb. I spent A LOT of time trying to figure out how to make it all sound good. It was not easy. The "Harmonic Exciter" in there is pretty fun. The noise gate might be worth never using. The delays and reverbs weren't too bad. The stock presets were generally garbage, so its worth going into the editor and playing with each effects block parameters one at t time to assemble useable patches. It was cool to be able to use the digital level controls for rhythm vs. lead patches and the like. Oh the humanity!
I had one years ago, I wasn't disappointed. I do recall the effects sounding pretty awesome - crystal clear. I traded it for a Boss GT-5 which was later traded for a Boss GT-8. I went and bought a used ART SGX 2000 recently, which always looked so cool in the ads, and you could buy an optional pedal board for it back in the day. The SGX 2000 is okay, but I think the Mach II sounded better, clearer quality.
I still use my SGX NITRO! my brother gave me years ago. I'm currently using it mostly as a reverb/delay unit for my Arturia Microfreak synth. You can spend days messing with that old multi effects unit, but at the end of the day, its a bit noisy, so I dont use it on my guitar. Great video.
I have a wet dry wet setup and still use the ART SGX Nitro version in my rack for stereo modulation and delay effects with a Rocktron All Access foot controller and a Carvin VLD1 preamp. I dont use the ODs or Dist in the unit so I dont have to deal with all the noise you are dealing with here.
I used to have an ART rules breaker. Shit I learned how to play on that thing. It had no balls but this video is like time warping back to my childhood hearing all these weird ass sounds that I used to play.
My first rack unit was an Ibanez DMD2000. I’m sure I bought it due to an ad in GP or GFTPM rag. I had no idea how to use it. I just pressed buttons until I thought it sounded good but I don’t think many people agreed with me.
bought an original at an estate sale a number of years ago. i imagine it's still around (cuz i didn't feel comfy selling it to any unsuspecting individual). haha
Bought one of these from a local music store in the early 90's cheap , and spend several days scrolling , pushing buttons , sliding sliders , and came to the conclusion it was not for me ... sold it for a hand full of magic beans !!!
Had ever tried SGX2000 going to return amp JCM900 head.. instant 80s guitar tone, reminds me to skidrow, warrant or other 80s band whom had big reverb on their guitar tone..
Art had some funky looking stuff... I prefered my Digitech GSP21 Legend. Now, I am getting old so maybe its more me in a reminiscence kinda mood thing, but that GSP-21 unit sounded good.
@@BigHairyGuitars yeah man, I noticed you had a vid on the 21 also... after checking it out, I really enjoyed that clip!. Kinda reassuring that I wasn't imaginating that the GSP21 sounded decent with slight a mod! Lol old age plays tricks on us sometimes! Lol
I bought the Alesis Quadraverb GT not realizing that I could not bypass the preamp and just use the effects. The preamp was awful for distorted tones, but okay with clean tones. I traded it towards a Peavey 5150 when they first came out. I didn't need no stinking effects when playing through that amp!
You have to get into it to get more out, Micheal. You know that! & to get the most out of it, you need a MIDI footswitch. It's what turns on/off the dirt or whatever else you want. Set all the dirt gain to 1 MIDI channel. Set the effects parameters on multiple or single other channels. You have 16 MIDI channels! & you're using the factory presets! You have to find a patch you like, save it to a programmable patch, & go to town & spend a weekend. From what I remember of this unit, it has the same stuff as the MK1 SGX, just without the tube preamp. & for God's sake, use a Superstrat with HBs!!
Hahaha.!! The Mach 2 combined with my KittyHawk preamp and I was an unstoppable chorusy, reverby, excitery, wall of 80's wash tone! I loved it lol. Thanks for the memories! 🤘🤘🤘
I found a used one in 2018 - my kid took it from me - he uses it and loves it as a main part of his rig with a midi controller- I don’t think we that far off the mark in liking or wanting it.
My first rack unit was a used Multiverb in 1993 & I based that decision on the ads in magazines. I also had the X11 as I couldn't spring for the 15. Even then I knew the pitch shifter wasn't good but I was just happy to be able to sort of play the beginning of Raining Blood on my own. Lol.
H Michael, nice video. I had a Multiverb III back in the 90s. It didn't have distortion, otherwise it sounded as cheesy as yours, even though it had some curious sounds when you played with the mix on certain effects- I wish I still had it.
I had an ART Multiverb Alpha with an ADA MP1 running into it all powered by a Marshall 9100 Dual Mono Block power amp back in the mid 90's, so I was late to the game. Also had the ART X12 midi controller for it. I really had no idea what I was doing with that stuff and I certainly wasn't utilizing much of what those units had to offer but it was cool having a "rack system." I ended up selling the MP1 and got the Rocktron Piranha. That and the Marshall 9100 are the only parts of that old rig I still have and they're just sitting in a closet.
Gizmo box. Horrible gain, terrible delays... plate reverb was about all that was decent on it. Paid too much, sold it for pennies. Thanks for reminding me how much I got ripped off. All said,it was my first big box and I played the heck out of it, ran a Peavey Rockmaster preamp into it with a TubeWorks 2x90 head and 4x10 cab.
SGE: The presets from the factory, were totally maxed out to showcase it's extreme extents of abilities. They didn't go subtle, which added to their demise. The units from this era [every brand] need all presets tweaked into useable settings. As is?? Clearly, they are unusable. Takes time to undo all the 'over the top' exaggerated results. Once they are dumbed down, it becomes a usable thing. The ART SGX 2000Express: I REALLY wish you'd do a deep dive on that unit, but you probably don't want to take a half year of completely reprogramming 4 banks of 100+ presets, to get to the point where you are able to make a vid showing the world what it actually can do. Putting aside the tube preamp tones, the effects are great, even though there are naysayers galore. The thing is a Swiss Army Knife with crazy abilities. I left this at my buddy's studio, he who engineered at SONY in NYC and hangs with many pros, and when I went to go record with him said "hope you don't mind, I've been using this unit like crazy for 6 months". He loved it. He's done many things, worked with Nile Rodgers, and some other Grammy winning people and for him to be using this SGX2000Express at all, I was impressed. I still have it, and the foot controller, and I vacillate on selling it. But then I use it and have fun.
I remember when I first saw these in the mid 80’s…..I HAD to have one…I bought one brand new,and thought it was the coolest thing ever…Just the 80’s graphics were awesome….it didn’t sound that great for sure,but I played that thing for several years…At the time for a 22 year old me,it was great…..now,…not so much….I still think they look cool though…
I had this unit until it was stolen….. I ran it on an fx loop through a Peavy Deuce and a GK 2x12 cab. The GK was run at normal polarity and the Deuce I ran the speakers reverse polarity for a poor man’s stereo effect live. I actually had the programmable foot board for this as well. I programmed all my own sounds and had them set up for what we did live. I also used the sampler for recording and playing samples with my other gear and recording onto my 4 track. Again I did the poor man’s trick for longer sample times by playing a tape of the sample I wanted to use on the high speed available on the 4 track into the SGE then adjusting to a lower pitch and it would end up at normal speed. Ah the days before a DAW.😂
Oh my memory lane, I had one of those but never liked distortion from it. I only used the effects it just looked cool to have a rack next to my peavey studio chorus 212. LOL
Nice christmas tree! 29 effects all at once sounds much better than MPX-1! Something about ART effects makes their units sort of intersting looking yet at the same time makes you think you wanna stay really far away from them. And after hearing this, most of them I wouldn't want to hear on my guitar. Exception being some sort of gimmicky special effects use. It's so odd to see the two cameras not synced. Not that it's a problem but it took me a while thinking "something's really odd".
Couldn’t afford one but did buy their all analog multi-effects pedalboard in ‘93, the ECC commander, and still have it. Plugged in in a year or two ago and it still works perfectly. It is designed for the four cable method and i think it had an output for amp channel control.
Technologically speaking, ART is pretty amazing what the accomplished. They really just needed better sound programmers for their presets... and maybe a new faceplate design.
You can make everything sounds like you are in a garage. Nice ! The only interesting use of the art unit are circuit bending bit crusher. I did one ans it’s fun… also experimental.
That doesn’t sound bad. It has some nice weird effects. But doesn’t sound great either I’m sure they got better stuff. I like it because it’s old. I remember the add to Guitar magazines.
I had an SGX 2000. It was my first processor. I had to back engineer the presets to figure out how to make my own I had the Ultrafoot channel/preset switch for it too. Too much delay time when you were switching between presets. I had to step on that bear at just the right time for a smooth transition lol smh.
Any chance on doing a in-depth video on the Eggie Ie4. Bruce is re-running the pre amp and would be good to see some new hype around it. Killer pre-amp, not much UA-cam videos on it
Haha I thought it was just me! Mine is burried in the garage somewhere. I swore off racks because of that thing!! Sounded like ass then and still does!!
I've had a ART Multiverb II in my rack since 88 ish, just after I bought my ADA MP-1. The ART gave up the ghost a good 10 years or so ago, but it still sits in the (now) stationary rack purely for the neon pink 80's Logo Vibe. I always found the ART sounds fine for the price , but they were guitar FX for stage, not studio fx by any stretch.
I remember seeing these these back in high school. But never owned one. Seen a couple of demos here on UA-cam. That logo might be the best thing about it. At least by 2022 standards. I am sure I would have killed for one when I was 17 though....
I'm sure that despite your "glowing" review, all of the used units on Reverb have doubled the asking prices. Still... a couple of those patches sounded fun to play with.
I have SGX 2000 Express (1993) and it has 2 effects loops (mono, stereo) and you can add in your choice of gain pedals and just bypass the internal preamp part of these units. Although, this MACH II has better gain than the SGX 2000 Express if you dig into the parameters. Actually, I would like to try running the SGE MACH II as a preamp into the loop of the SGX 2000 (effects only). Maybe one day.
To be honest, I had spent 40 minutes before I started shooting trying to get a regular stereo signal out of the thing. I kept getting a heavy L side. So, once I got a clean L&R, I stopped and didn't overthink it. I was just happy it was working and I could have a go at it. You can drive the input though, and it changes how the distortion and compression responds, but I wasn't toooo interested in that aspect of it's effects.
i have this same unit. bought it last year and have played with it maybe 3 times. i think there is potential to extract some good 80s tones (i'd recommend using humbuckers) but it needs to be paired with something that sounds.... better. I've been wanting to hook it up again and try an overdrive pedal in front of it. i suspect that would help a bit
I had the Peavey Addverb which I assume was a competitor to this, and the same. Unless it was stereo looped into a good pre/amp, it didn't sound good. But running stereo looped into a Fender M-80, with some pedals it sounded pretty good. Yes 100% to the pedals in front of it!
All I have to say is "do not judge a product based on its presets". But I don't know the unit. I guess it's normal for something this old having high latency on some effects. What I'm saying is that the manufacturers seem to put exaggerated presets like a "demo" thing.
that was my first rack unit back in the days... most of it is meh at its best, but I kinda liked the warm modulations and delays. Presets are terrible tho and you have to spend a long time to get the best of it
I still have my original ART sge in the effects loop of my 1989 Carvin X-50B with 4x12 cab lol. #82 is pretty decent. And making your own. I just hate trying to edit stuff one them, kinda why I went back to pedals lol
So my question is this. Is it so good it's bad or is it so bad it's good?
yes.
Little bit of column A, little bit of column B.
@@BigHairyGuitars its actually great when you make your own presets i bereave 9 effects at once a pedal board in a box
I bought one when they very first came out because my producer kept raving about it. $999...!!!??? It was sooo new it had no manual yet ART sent it to me complete straight from their typewriter...!! Months later they sent the actual one. It seemed to do everything except what I wanted. Compressor seemed quite good after I adjusted it. Pitch shifter was great for an almost 12 string, but I still have my electric 12 string from 1964, a white Burns. It kept making tiny extras after the sustain was almost over, a microscopic bzt heard only through headphones, driving me nuts. I sent it back, they would un-loose connector, spray 'things to clean it up' but never fixed it. Even changed the entire wiring loom...nothing. It did look good in the rack and I ran it into a blonde '63 Bandmaster. I still have it. Thought about selling it but no way I would ever get enough money for it. I went back to pedals because I can build them, customize them so they look exotic. I use the weird pedals because it pisses off all the right pedal snobs. Milk Box compressor, Clapton multi pedal x two, Behringer multi pedal, etc. The pedals just do a better job than the Mach 2. I rarely sell anything off because there is always something it does well, and I already have it. The Rockman X-100 I would never sell.Just bought a East River Drive and experiment with the new cheap 'skinny pedals' and have had good luck. The TEMU Auto Wah/Envelope Follower is still better than the one in the Mach 2.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it. Hugs....Nyms.
Wow, what a trip down memory lane! The days of the AD/A MP-1, Rocktron Pro G.A.P., Yamaha SPX90, Rockman XPR, etc... I remember having a massive Mesa Boogie rack filled with all these effects. The ART SGE spent more time out for repairs (two times) than working in my rack. Eventually I gave up on it. I wish I held on to my Rocktron rack units and Mutron pedals -- now from time to time I see them listed on eBay or Reverb for a small fortune!
We are about the same age. The guitar magazines, the nostalgia, the gear, etc… Wanted to save my money as a teenager working in a pizza shop for one of these. The ads had me riveted. Glad I missed the boat after all!
haha! We were being tricked! Those ads!!!
I wanted one of these ART units so bad when I was a kid. That and an RG770 were like the Holy Grail to me.
Holy geez,this was my first “pro” rig multi fx; it was fun to see/hear it again. I used a Rockman Distortion Generator as my distortion source. I hear y’all, stfu, it was 1990 lolol. I stepped up to their SGX 2000 when it came out and it was a vast improvement. It’s worth mentioning that for a long time at this stage of guitar multifx processors, factory presets were legit unusable, just over-the-top thinking you wanted to hear the most extreme shit they could do. The 2000 and 2000 Express were capable stuff, especially for their time. But job 1 was to wipe the presets, lol.
Patch 36. PIGS IN SPACE! I still have mine.. haven’t turned it on for 20 years. Don’t even know if it still works. 😂
Glad to see the Fish back on the show!
I had the og SGE as a kid (mach 1 I suppose) . Straight into a Peavey solid state amp. As I got older I just used it for time based effects on vocals when recording. And then 10 years ago I was an idiot and donated it.
NOOOOOO!
Reverb/eBay..........
mach 1 was noisy... had one. into a marshall 2550 + gorillas as speakers
Anyone who complains about modern multi effect processors/modellers needs to spend an afternoon on something like this. 11:14 all day.
Dude, I used one of those HARD in the 80s. I think I had the original and then a Mach II. There was a time when I was automatically switching all my patch changes so all I had to do was play and sing and not do any foot switching when playing live. Because I was mainly playing clean sounds, it actually worked well for my needs at the time!
Awesome. I can see that. There's some nice clean stuff in there.
How were your patch changes automatically switching?
@@adamyidiaris3491 From a sequencer. Everything was played to a click, which was the downside...
I love it when you revisit old units! A POD 2.0 would also be hilarious.
I have my POD v1 in the garage, I'll see if it still works.
@@BigHairyGuitars the zoom 9002
This stuff was definitely in its infancy during that time. I own a few of these rack units years ago, it takes time to dial in anything decent. A few of the channels did sound good, better than I remembered. Things have come a long way for sure, much better stuff is out there now.
Thanks! I had one in the '90s. That takes me back. The gated reverb was very cool
I still have the SGX2000... because I hoard music gear. Was my main rig in the early 90's. SGX2000 into a Marshall valvestate power amp into a 4x12 Marshall cab from the 70's. None of the presets worked through a cab though. It's like they designed them through the headphone jack. Had to build every preset for live. Worked at the time. Moved on to Mesa Dual Rec and stomp boxes. Still with Mesa and stomps (RA100 and 2x12 and a Lonestar combo). Now I want to dig it out, throw on the headphones and rip.
I had this with a Fender M-80 , it was great however it constantly failed in live situations, sent it back , ART replaced it , Great Customer service, new unit failed again ... finally traded it for an ADA Mp1 and and Alesis QuadraVerb GT , that configuration is still rocking Today ! Great Flashback to my early 90's rack gear . Thanks For All your Posts !
I owned this for many years and was smart enough, unlike most of the commenters here, to not use the distortion sounds. I ran a Peavey Rock Master into this and then stereo out to a Peavey Classic 60/60 into stereo 2x12 cabinets. I used any effects except distortion and it sounded very good.
For those saying how bad it sounds because of the presets that use the ART distortion, you are simpleminded.
I love these videos where you play through old gear. I'm always surprised at how good (IMO) they hold up. People may not agree (including yourself), but I think you get some good sounds out of them. Not all of them are winners, obviously, but there were totally usable tones in that unit.
It'd be cool if you could also give a general price on these units when you go over them, like just check out ebay completed auctions for a general price range.
I'd like to see you do a full demo song with old gear like this you play through (like you do with new gear). Would love to hear these old units in song context and a pro mix.
Brings back memories (not all good), I had one of these in the late 80's. LPF is low pass filter, not lo-fi.
Did I say LOFI? Hmm. Maybe I needed my glasses :)
Best to run your guitar signal straight in. The analog comp and drives are really good and also the delays and chorus. 80's classic rock galore. Closely matches my SGX2000.
As a Puerto Rican kid, I love the T-Shirt!
You're doing it wrong Michael ;D The ART SGE MACH II was a contender to the KORG A3, Roland GP16, Digitech GSP21 (also Harman int) Yamaha FX500, Rockman XPR, Peavey ProFex and ZOOM 9030, You're supposed to run your guitar signal directly into the processor, then the stereo signal into 2 guitar amps. Or plug your DX7 in stereo and run the stereo outs into the mixer ... those lifeless presets will light up like a KORG M1 !!
Yeah, the manual mentioned that. Maybe I just was not in an ART distortion kinda mood that day. haha
rocktron prophesy, most underrated all in one tube preamp of all times imo, cheers 🙏
...the tube was used as a buffer and had no influence on the gain structure , that was all solid state drive
Regardless of its sonic performance, to call it a "Tube preamp" is giving it too much credit
@@Nightdare it has two tubes and its a solid tube preamp buddy 😂🤦
I had the ART Mach II back in the day along with a Power Plant and an Rockman Midi Octopus to conroll those and the channel switching on my JCM 900 4100 Dual Reverb. I spent A LOT of time trying to figure out how to make it all sound good. It was not easy. The "Harmonic Exciter" in there is pretty fun. The noise gate might be worth never using. The delays and reverbs weren't too bad. The stock presets were generally garbage, so its worth going into the editor and playing with each effects block parameters one at t time to assemble useable patches. It was cool to be able to use the digital level controls for rhythm vs. lead patches and the like. Oh the humanity!
I had one years ago, I wasn't disappointed. I do recall the effects sounding pretty awesome - crystal clear. I traded it for a Boss GT-5 which was later traded for a Boss GT-8. I went and bought a used ART SGX 2000 recently, which always looked so cool in the ads, and you could buy an optional pedal board for it back in the day. The SGX 2000 is okay, but I think the Mach II sounded better, clearer quality.
I still use my SGX NITRO! my brother gave me years ago. I'm currently using it mostly as a reverb/delay unit for my Arturia Microfreak synth. You can spend days messing with that old multi effects unit, but at the end of the day, its a bit noisy, so I dont use it on my guitar. Great video.
*I see you playing that Queensryche n those shimmering cleans*
I have a wet dry wet setup and still use the ART SGX Nitro version in my rack for stereo modulation and delay effects with a Rocktron All Access foot controller and a Carvin VLD1 preamp. I dont use the ODs or Dist in the unit so I dont have to deal with all the noise you are dealing with here.
Unfortunately I had this but the Alexis stuff was great!
Still have mine. Just got to find the good presents. Nothing more, nothing less.
I had an ART DrX 2100 in my rack that I thought was incredible. I still have it in a box somewhere. Those were ART’s best FX unit at the time.
Wanna sell it? :)
Still have mine 🥳😬
Those emojis cracked me up.
I had this and the foot controller and got janes addiction tones perfectly and metal tones were amazing…
7:28 Take me down to the Paradise City…
Priceless!!!
Loved the ending. 😄
I used to have an ART rules breaker. Shit I learned how to play on that thing. It had no balls but this video is like time warping back to my childhood hearing all these weird ass sounds that I used to play.
Art power plant! In my fav overdrive of all time.
My first rack unit was an Ibanez DMD2000. I’m sure I bought it due to an ad in GP or GFTPM rag. I had no idea how to use it. I just pressed buttons until I thought it sounded good but I don’t think many people agreed with me.
bought an original at an estate sale a number of years ago. i imagine it's still around (cuz i didn't feel comfy selling it to any unsuspecting individual). haha
That was kind of you to not spread the pain! haha. Love your channel BTW.
Bought one of these from a local music store in the early 90's cheap , and spend several days scrolling , pushing buttons , sliding sliders , and came to the conclusion it was not for me ... sold it for a hand full of magic beans !!!
Had ever tried SGX2000 going to return amp JCM900 head.. instant 80s guitar tone, reminds me to skidrow, warrant or other 80s band whom had big reverb on their guitar tone..
Art had some funky looking stuff... I prefered my Digitech GSP21 Legend. Now, I am getting old so maybe its more me in a reminiscence kinda mood thing, but that GSP-21 unit sounded good.
I love the GSP21
@@BigHairyGuitars yeah man, I noticed you had a vid on the 21 also... after checking it out, I really enjoyed that clip!. Kinda reassuring that I wasn't imaginating that the GSP21 sounded decent with slight a mod! Lol old age plays tricks on us sometimes! Lol
I like the clean chorus patch but the rest. Mmmmmm As you said. Rough Boy.
Great to watch though Michael 🤘
I bought the Alesis Quadraverb GT not realizing that I could not bypass the preamp and just use the effects. The preamp was awful for distorted tones, but okay with clean tones. I traded it towards a Peavey 5150 when they first came out. I didn't need no stinking effects when playing through that amp!
You have to get into it to get more out, Micheal. You know that! & to get the most out of it, you need a MIDI footswitch. It's what turns on/off the dirt or whatever else you want. Set all the dirt gain to 1 MIDI channel. Set the effects parameters on multiple or single other channels. You have 16 MIDI channels! & you're using the factory presets! You have to find a patch you like, save it to a programmable patch, & go to town & spend a weekend. From what I remember of this unit, it has the same stuff as the MK1 SGX, just without the tube preamp. & for God's sake, use a Superstrat with HBs!!
Hahaha.!! The Mach 2 combined with my KittyHawk preamp and I was an unstoppable chorusy, reverby, excitery, wall of 80's wash tone! I loved it lol. Thanks for the memories! 🤘🤘🤘
ur raw doggin that DAW here
I found a used one in 2018 - my kid took it from me - he uses it and loves it as a main part of his rig with a midi controller- I don’t think we that far off the mark in liking or wanting it.
Sounds fine to me.
My first rack unit was a used Multiverb in 1993 & I based that decision on the ads in magazines. I also had the X11 as I couldn't spring for the 15. Even then I knew the pitch shifter wasn't good but I was just happy to be able to sort of play the beginning of Raining Blood on my own. Lol.
H Michael, nice video. I had a Multiverb III back in the 90s. It didn't have distortion, otherwise it sounded as cheesy as yours, even though it had some curious sounds when you played with the mix on certain effects- I wish I still had it.
Sometimes the cheese is were it's at!
@@BigHairyGuitars You bet. If you want late 80s cheesy sound you gotta have late 80s cheesy stuff, that's my point. 😅
I had an ART Multiverb Alpha with an ADA MP1 running into it all powered by a Marshall 9100 Dual Mono Block power amp back in the mid 90's, so I was late to the game. Also had the ART X12 midi controller for it. I really had no idea what I was doing with that stuff and I certainly wasn't utilizing much of what those units had to offer but it was cool having a "rack system." I ended up selling the MP1 and got the Rocktron Piranha. That and the Marshall 9100 are the only parts of that old rig I still have and they're just sitting in a closet.
That sounds like it was an awesome rig!!!
@@BigHairyGuitars it could've been pretty sweet but I was too young to know what to do with it 🤣🤣🤣
Zany, unusable presets were the way back then.. today too, come to think of it (modelers). Didn’t every one have a ‘Chrystalizer’ preset, lol?
Gizmo box. Horrible gain, terrible delays... plate reverb was about all that was decent on it. Paid too much, sold it for pennies. Thanks for reminding me how much I got ripped off. All said,it was my first big box and I played the heck out of it, ran a Peavey Rockmaster preamp into it with a TubeWorks 2x90 head and 4x10 cab.
There's really no terrible delays lol... if you're looking for a certain tone of delays like tape obviously that wont be it
@@adamyidiaris3491 well... I bought a fake Keeley Mag Echo from demonfx/China. Used it for maybe 5 minutes. Absolutely the rats ass of delays.
@@gph2193 well yeah that sounds bad
SGE:
The presets from the factory, were totally maxed out to showcase it's extreme extents of abilities. They didn't go subtle, which added to their demise. The units from this era [every brand] need all presets tweaked into useable settings. As is?? Clearly, they are unusable. Takes time to undo all the 'over the top' exaggerated results. Once they are dumbed down, it becomes a usable thing.
The ART SGX 2000Express:
I REALLY wish you'd do a deep dive on that unit, but you probably don't want to take a half year of completely reprogramming 4 banks of 100+ presets, to get to the point where you are able to make a vid showing the world what it actually can do. Putting aside the tube preamp tones, the effects are great, even though there are naysayers galore. The thing is a Swiss Army Knife with crazy abilities. I left this at my buddy's studio, he who engineered at SONY in NYC and hangs with many pros, and when I went to go record with him said "hope you don't mind, I've been using this unit like crazy for 6 months". He loved it. He's done many things, worked with Nile Rodgers, and some other Grammy winning people and for him to be using this SGX2000Express at all, I was impressed. I still have it, and the foot controller, and I vacillate on selling it. But then I use it and have fun.
Man that thing is butchering the incoming signal badly... those early converters were wretched.
Marshall Govnr into this, into a Peavey Special 130 was 80s magic back in the day.
Oh yeah! I had a Govn'r, still do!
I remember when I first saw these in the mid 80’s…..I HAD to have one…I bought one brand new,and thought it was the coolest thing ever…Just the 80’s graphics were awesome….it didn’t sound that great for sure,but I played that thing for several years…At the time for a 22 year old me,it was great…..now,…not so much….I still think they look cool though…
I had this unit until it was stolen….. I ran it on an fx loop through a Peavy Deuce and a GK 2x12 cab. The GK was run at normal polarity and the Deuce I ran the speakers reverse polarity for a poor man’s stereo effect live. I actually had the programmable foot board for this as well. I programmed all my own sounds and had them set up for what we did live. I also used the sampler for recording and playing samples with my other gear and recording onto my 4 track. Again I did the poor man’s trick for longer sample times by playing a tape of the sample I wanted to use on the high speed available on the 4 track into the SGE then adjusting to a lower pitch and it would end up at normal speed. Ah the days before a DAW.😂
Oh my memory lane, I had one of those but never liked distortion from it. I only used the effects it just looked cool to have a rack next to my peavey studio chorus 212. LOL
Rad!
Like a lot of 80's gear, forget about the overdrives and distorsions. But for the clean sounds... oh my god that's sound nice.
Tried it when it came out and left it there.
Used to have an sgx t2 sitting in the loop of my Laney AOR 100 epic 80ness.
I think you´ve been practicing, every video you seem to play better than before🙃
I still have my original Intellifex. I wish I had bought ALL the older guitar rack units!
Had one. Hated it
Thanks for the video
Great job Michael
Seriously almost bought one a few hours ago, $40 on ebay now. But I already have one and an sgx2000e.
Nice christmas tree! 29 effects all at once sounds much better than MPX-1! Something about ART effects makes their units sort of intersting looking yet at the same time makes you think you wanna stay really far away from them. And after hearing this, most of them I wouldn't want to hear on my guitar. Exception being some sort of gimmicky special effects use. It's so odd to see the two cameras not synced. Not that it's a problem but it took me a while thinking "something's really odd".
Those ART FX racks into a Peavey Bandit! those were the 80s! 😂
Couldn’t afford one but did buy their all analog multi-effects pedalboard in ‘93, the ECC commander, and still have it. Plugged in in a year or two ago and it still works perfectly. It is designed for the four cable method and i think it had an output for amp channel control.
Technologically speaking, ART is pretty amazing what the accomplished. They really just needed better sound programmers for their presets... and maybe a new faceplate design.
You can make everything sounds like you are in a garage. Nice ! The only interesting use of the art unit are circuit bending bit crusher. I did one ans it’s fun… also experimental.
That doesn’t sound bad. It has some nice weird effects. But doesn’t sound great either I’m sure they got better stuff. I like it because it’s old. I remember the add to Guitar magazines.
I had an SGX 2000. It was my first processor. I had to back engineer the presets to figure out how to make my own I had the Ultrafoot channel/preset switch for it too. Too much delay time when you were switching between presets. I had to step on that bear at just the right time for a smooth transition lol smh.
Man.. that front design is so 80s 😂
I used to have their Multiverb Alpha unit...their stock presets were a ton of crap, but I used to make my own and they weren't quite as much crap :-)
yes , you could not have said it better
Any chance on doing a in-depth video on the Eggie Ie4. Bruce is re-running the pre amp and would be good to see some new hype around it. Killer pre-amp, not much UA-cam videos on it
Yeah. I do have a video with it, but it's 1 of 4 preamps. I don't think I did a full blown Eggy video yet.
"Back on Melmac if we didn't understand something we broke it." Alf.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Haha I thought it was just me! Mine is burried in the garage somewhere. I swore off racks because of that thing!! Sounded like ass then and still does!!
I've had a ART Multiverb II in my rack since 88 ish, just after I bought my ADA MP-1. The ART gave up the ghost a good 10 years or so ago, but it still sits in the (now) stationary rack purely for the neon pink 80's Logo Vibe. I always found the ART sounds fine for the price , but they were guitar FX for stage, not studio fx by any stretch.
I remember seeing these these back in high school. But never owned one. Seen a couple of demos here on UA-cam. That logo might be the best thing about it. At least by 2022 standards.
I am sure I would have killed for one when I was 17 though....
How funny, my first credit card purchase in 1988, Art Mult Verb II and a ADA MP1. :) Still have them in a rack. Classic.
I kept the MP-1 but I just recently sold the Multverb EXT.
I had the nitro and still have the SGX 2000 gain is horrible but the time and pitch efx are awesome. I still miss my ultrafoot X-15
Back in the 80’s you would have been excited to have one of these if you were a new player. Bad fx are better than no fx.
Used the drx-2100 for years live. Never failed me. Still have it. Never cared for art distortion.
Still have mine too! It saw some action in those early 90’s lol
Waiting for 22!!! Well, almost...
This was Waiting for 21. Very close. 😆 Good job spotting the changes!
I still have mine. I don’t think it works anymore though.
mach 11 is the built in sampler function
I'm sure that despite your "glowing" review, all of the used units on Reverb have doubled the asking prices. Still... a couple of those patches sounded fun to play with.
i think it would have been cool had you made a demo song like you did for SLO pedal.
I have SGX 2000 Express (1993) and it has 2 effects loops (mono, stereo) and you can add in your choice of gain pedals and just bypass the internal preamp part of these units. Although, this MACH II has better gain than the SGX 2000 Express if you dig into the parameters. Actually, I would like to try running the SGE MACH II as a preamp into the loop of the SGX 2000 (effects only). Maybe one day.
Is there a reason you left the input and output gain on line level rather than instrument level? Does it make a difference if you push it?
To be honest, I had spent 40 minutes before I started shooting trying to get a regular stereo signal out of the thing. I kept getting a heavy L side. So, once I got a clean L&R, I stopped and didn't overthink it. I was just happy it was working and I could have a go at it. You can drive the input though, and it changes how the distortion and compression responds, but I wasn't toooo interested in that aspect of it's effects.
i have this same unit. bought it last year and have played with it maybe 3 times. i think there is potential to extract some good 80s tones (i'd recommend using humbuckers) but it needs to be paired with something that sounds.... better. I've been wanting to hook it up again and try an overdrive pedal in front of it. i suspect that would help a bit
I had the Peavey Addverb which I assume was a competitor to this, and the same. Unless it was stereo looped into a good pre/amp, it didn't sound good. But running stereo looped into a Fender M-80, with some pedals it sounded pretty good. Yes 100% to the pedals in front of it!
@@lorenmorgan1931 now im excited to try it!
Hi!
¿Where to buy Art Multiverb?
All I have to say is "do not judge a product based on its presets". But I don't know the unit. I guess it's normal for something this old having high latency on some effects. What I'm saying is that the manufacturers seem to put exaggerated presets like a "demo" thing.
that was my first rack unit back in the days... most of it is meh at its best, but I kinda liked the warm modulations and delays. Presets are terrible tho and you have to spend a long time to get the best of it
What a coincidence. I just dumped mine not two weeks ago. Hadn't used it since '92 and when I fired it up last year, nada.
I still have my original ART sge in the effects loop of my 1989 Carvin X-50B with 4x12 cab lol. #82 is pretty decent. And making your own. I just hate trying to edit stuff one them, kinda why I went back to pedals lol
wow with some intense tweaking you got your $8k Fish to sound like a Line 6
Had this mated to a rocktron chameleon. I thought it sounded like god back in those days but it was probably awful.
haha. I think there was a way to make it sound awesome (80's awesome), but editing is such a nightmare on that thing. I just couldn't dive in.